Imad and Qassim Alwan lie dead in a Gaza hospital after they were killed in Israeli shellingTwenty-six Palestinians including eight members of a single family were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Friday evening, while the death of a young man wounded earlier in the week brought the total number of deaths in Israel's 11-day long assault to 298 and more than 2,200 injured.

The deaths bring the total killed since the beginning of the ground invasion late Thursday night to 63, as deaths and injuries across the besieged coastal enclave soared on the first day of the assault in both the northern and southern regions of the territory.

Of the 63 killed since the beginning of the Israeli invasion, 26 died after Gazans broke their fast at sunset on Friday evening as Israeli air strikes pounded the Strip.

Four members of the Shaath family were killed and four were injured including one seriously after an air strike on their home in the Hayy al-Manara neighborhood of Khan Younis around 10:30 p.m.

Three members of the Abu Sneineh family were also killed in a strike on their home in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and three others were injured. The dead were named by Gaza medical authorities as: Faysal Abu Sneineh, 32, Emad Faysal Abu Sneineh, 18, and Nizar Fayez Aub Sneineh, 38.

Muhammad Talal al-Saneh, 20, died around 10:30 p.m. as a result of an Israeli attack, Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.

Ismail Ramadan Salmi, 23, was brought dead to the Gaza European Hospital, while Ghassan Salem Abu Musa Abu Azzab, 28, and his brother Muhammad Salam Abu Musa Abu Azzab, 19, from Hayy al-Manara in Khan Younis also died as a result of an Israeli attack.

Yusif Ibrahim Hasan al-Astal, 23, died of wounds he sustained in Khan Younis a week ago.

Israel launched Operation Protective Edge 11 days ago in what it said was an attempt to halt rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which had increased in the weeks prior after Israel launched a massive assault against Hamas in the West Bank.

That assault -- which left around 10 dead, 130 injured, and 600 Hamas-affiliated individual in Israeli prisons -- came in response to the kidnapping and death of three Israeli youth in June, which Israel accused Hamas of involvement in.

Hamas has denied any involvement in the killings, and has instead accused Israel of exploiting the deaths to launch an all out assault on the group, one of the few in Palestine that maintains an armed wing capable of attacking Israel.

Israeli tanks, naval ships and airforce continue to bombard every part of the Gaza Strip, with ground troops invading from the north and east and airstrikes continuing to hit areas in southern Gaza, including Khan Younis and Rafah hit the hardest. Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra reported the following casualties on Friday evening:

Seven children were killed in three separate airstrikes in Gaza City, in the central district of Gaza.

Airstrikes on the Abu Jarad family home in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, resulted in the deaths of five members of the family, and the wounding of several others. Those killed were identified as: 8. Naim Mousa Abu Jarad, 23. 9. Abed Mousa Abu Jarad, 30. 10. Siham Mousa Abu Jarad, 26. 11. Rija Aliyan Abu Jarad 12. Child, name not yet verified

Also in northern Gaza, an airstrike hit the village of Jahr al-Deek, killing:

A Palestinian was killed on a road in western Gaza, identified as: 29. Mohammad ‘Awad Ma’tar, 37.

Hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with the number of wounded, most of whom remain in corridors and waiting rooms, since the hospitals are full. Kamel Zaqzuq, a doctor at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, said “The situation is very, very difficult…At night, it's one constant emergency."

Palestinians in the northern part of the Gaza Strip fled by the thousands to try to seek refuge in United Nations schools, while Israeli officials have vowed to ‘flatten’ the towns and villages of northern Gaza, whose residents were all told by Israeli officials to evacuate.

Chris Guinness, a spokesperson of the United Nations, stated, “The number of people coming to UNRWA seeking sanctuary from the fighting in Gaza has nearly doubled today. It has risen from 22,000 to over 40,000”.

In the previous large-scale invasion of Gaza, in 2009, Israeli forces attacked United Nations schools,including using white phosphorus weapons, which cause severe burns and are banned under international law for use in civilian areas.

An Israeli soldier identified as Eitan Barak was killed Friday by Palestinian fighters while Israeli troops invaded northern Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Military spokesman Brigadier General Motti told reporters, "We are using a very high level of fire power and artillery," adding, “A great number of soldiers are in action in the Gaza Strip, soldiers are overtaking their targets, tunnels, Hamas targets”.

But eyewitnesses, human rights groups and the United Nations all confirm that the Israeli military is overwhelmingly targeting civilians in its ground invasion, after airstrikes over the previous nine days killed 242 Palestinians and wounded over 1800 – at least 80% of whom are civilians, and the majority of whom are women and children.

At least eight members of a single family, among them four children, were killed by Israeli tank fire in northern Gaza on Friday evening, medics said.The eight members of the Abu Jurad family -- two men, two women, and four children -- were killed in their home in Beit Hanun, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.He had given an initial toll of five dead in the attack, but revised it upwards to eight, adding the deaths of three additional children from the family.He gave the names of the children as Hania, Ahlam, Samih and Musa -- two girls and two boys.Their deaths raised the toll on the eleventh day of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas to 292 killed in Gaza.Two Israelis have been killed, one civilian and one soldier.

You find the photo's/video's disturbing? Remember, this is what Palestinian children see almost every day